Spur of the moment purchase when I walked into a 20% off sale at REI store.
I had just purchased a Nuvi 350 on eBay a few days ago and waiting to
receive it. Given the sale, I figured maybe I should take advantage and get
a unit for bushwalking as well as general fun and games to supplement the
street use Nuvi. Initially I bought a Legend Cx but after a day of use, I
figured that a built-in compass was essential. I went back and swapped it
for a Vista Cx and paid the difference (still qualified for the 20%
discount).

So the key factors I considered were,

- Very compact. Means that I can carry it everywhere without being so
obvious and label me as a geek cf. GPSMap60CSx.
- Expandable memory with microSD card. I intended to have it loaded with
both N American as well as Australian road maps, as well as a world map. So
I'll need lots of memory.
- USB. USB based connector. Serial connectors are history.
- AA battery. Much more economical (with NiMH rechargeable) and not subject
to limited life span of a Li battery based unit.
- Auto-routing. Serve as a back up car unit when the my significant other
hogs the Nuvi.
- Rugged. Carry anywhere and waterproof.
- Garmin. Promised to provide full Mac OS X software support by end of this
year.

2) What you like about your choice.

Compact palm sized unit. I now keep it in a small pouch strapped on my
shoulder bag. It goes where I go with little penalty. Road navigation is
very good (v2.40 firmware). If I had known, I might not have bought the Nuvi
in the first place. ;)

3) What you do not like about your choice?

In a side-by-side comparison, the sensitivity clearly is no match with the
Nuvi. It's slower to acquire satellite and less of it under tougher
situations. But it's something I can live with given that this unit is for
recreational use. The larger size and extra cost of GPS60CSx is not
something I am willing to trade.

4) Your experiences in using your GPS receiver.

Very happy. The battery life is very good. And with a spare set of AA
available, I have no down time. The latest firmware update (2.40) has
further improved the unit's car navigation interface.

5) Does your GPS perform as you expected.

Yes it does. For the price and the discount I received. I thought it was a
bargain.

6) How is the manual?

I did read 90% of it. It wasn't exactly easy going but like most manuals for
electronic equipments, I found it best to just get some hands-on experience
and play with it, and then reference the manual for specific functions.

7) Other comments.

Price of additional Garmin Mapsource maps is like highway robbery! I hate
the cost of those maps. Although I partly understand it's not all Garmin's
fault, as they had to license from those map makers. But still, it hurts.
And here's another reason to stay with Garmin for both units (Nuvi and Vista
Cx), so that they can share the map license (limit of 2 units).

A comment on the car windscreen suction mount. I bought Garmin's offering
and have to say the construction is rather weak. With the heavish Vista Cx
attached, the unit would wobble badly whilst being driven on our city
streets. I had to lower its position so that the bottom of the Vista Cx
could rest on the dashboard to stop the instability. In comparison, the
suction mount that came with the Nuvi was much more solid. Yet again, the
Nuvi was also much lighter.